Chill’em All, by DJ Champion and his G-Strings (2004)

A hard, moody, sumptuous, techno-rock barrage of heavy riffs from a 6-member all-guitar & bass band, propelled by the incredibly powerful voice of Béatrice Bonifassi and the energetic direction and keyboard magic of Maxime Morin – alias DJ Champion.

Tuesday 5 August 2008 :: by Thierry Gagnon

Printable version

Two years ago, as I was mindlessly zapping through the TV channels, I had the fortitude to stumble upon a recording of DJ Champion’s 2005 show at the Festival de Jazz de Montréal. My wife and I stared in awed disbelief, transfixed by sheer energy of this most unusual music. This mix of electronica, heavy guitars, high-caliber vocals and hard-edged lyrics was unlike anything I had every heard before and haunted me for months until I decided to purchase the album.

Part of the impact of this innovative sound is are the mournfoul lyrics from “Negro Songs of Protest”, such as No Heaven (see below) and “The Plow”. Suffused with themes of pain, injustice, hope and despair, this is heady stuff indeed and well worth listening to.

No Heaven, Festival de Jazz de Montréal (2005)

Live at the Metropolis (2002)

From bandeapart.fm, you can listen or watch for free on a complete live recording of Champion’s December 19, 2002 concert at Montreal’s Metropolis. This recording includes all of the album’s tracks and even features a sweet adaptation of Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard”.

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